Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Long Gun Justin

"I voted to keep the firearms registry a few months ago and if we had a vote tomorrow I would vote once again to keep the long-gun registry," Trudeau told reporters.

"However, the definition of a failed public policy is the fact that the long-gun registry is no more... The fact is, because it was so deeply divisive for far too many people, it no longer exists." He repeated that definition of public policy, in both English and French.

If you can follow that bouncing ball, perhaps you too should consider running for the Liberal Party leadership. Those with longish political memories will recall revelations of the Dauphin's pissing on Alberta in a Quebec interview two years ago. Being a mere lad of forty he has not yet acquired the delicate flip-flopping skills of an experienced politician. If only Bob Rae had been there...

Justin evokes mixed feelings on the Canadian Right. About 80% of us think that the Son and Heir will be a catastrophic failure who will destroy the Liberal Party. The other 20% think that the younger Trudeau will be a catastrophic failure who will destroy the whole country. The question we are faced with is whether Justin is merely a threat to the Liberal Party or if there is a serious possibility he could win the whole thing. Pause to consider: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

I apologize to those of a certain age. Painful memories of Trudeau I come to mind. The fear is that Trudeau II will finish the job his father started and in the process finish off the country. One socialist jacobin a lifetime seems more than sufficient. Not sure if even a sturdy girl like Canada can take a double dose.

Less than a month into the serious campaigning and Justin has already committed two serious gaffes. To compound matters he then gave bizarre pseudo-apologies that strained coherence more than the truth. These things can be forgotten. The low-attention span of the Canadian electorate has been a godsend to many a professional pol. What will not be forgotten is Trudeau's hysterical reactions. The man's natural ham just keeps coming out. I would pay good money to see Justin and William Shatner interview each other.

My money's on Bill. But only just.

The fate of the country, heaven help us, may rest on the Tory war room. Those legendary cheap-ass attack ads will need to be dusted off. It should be easier this time around. No need for scare quotes or badly angled shots. Nope. Just let some carefully edited snippets of Justin being Justin. Give the lad enough rope to hang himself and he will.

Then again I thought the same thing about Barack Obama.

Democracy is a fickle thing and we are two and a half years from the next election.

Comments

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Justin is correct. Culture is a belief system. It changes constantly, usually driven by economics and it is diverse amongst the Provinces. Long guns are a part of culture and politicians cannot lead on that. So it is best to move on because politicians can only follow on cultural issues. Also let the Provinces differ on cultural issues.

Note how the NDP thinks our culture can continue to simply be defined as not being American. A pretty shallow definition.

The Canadian Press Posted: 12/3/2012
Trudeau also received some pushback for stating over the weekend that gun ownership is a key part of Canada's culture.
The NDP's Nathan Cullen, who represents a rural B.C. riding and opposed the registry, said the comments smacked of insincerity. He said it was a strange position to take for someone who had been a passionate defender of the registry.
"As somebody who represents and lives in rural Canada, it seems to reduce us down to people who simply own guns," Cullen said.
"This is not who we are. We are many things. And people can smell pandering when they see it. Canadians can tolerate quite a bit from their political leaders. Hypocrisy is, generally speaking, not one of those things."
"The point is pretty simple. We're not living in the (United) States,"
A Quebec reporter asked Trudeau about that province's legal fight to keep its portion of the registry and he replied: "I find it's a very good idea. Because in Quebec it was not at all as divisive as it was elsewhere in the country," Trudeau said. "Perhaps a solution is to let provinces find different solutions.